Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (valuesclarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-BasedEducation (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challengingthe student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.They oppose critical thinking skills? Really?
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Texas Politicians Oppose Critical Thinking
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From the 2102 Republican Party of Texas - Report of the Platform Committee:
People Who Lack Critical Thinking Skills
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In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, there were some who were so disgusted by the court's judgement that they tweeted. [Credit to BuzzFeed.]
A little education about Canada.
A little education about Canada.Canada's national health insurance program, often referred to as "Medicare", is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis. Instead of having a single national plan, we have a national program that is composed of 13 interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common features and basic standards of coverage. Framed by the Canada Health Act, the principles governing our health care system are symbols of the underlying Canadian values of equity and solidarity.
... the system provides access to universal, comprehensive coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services.
The federal government provides funding to the provinces and territories for health care services through fiscal transfers.
July 4 is Higgsdependence Day
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Very early this morning, CERN*, the Organisation Européenne pour la Recherché Nucléaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research), announced a major discovery. A major piece of the universal puzzle is now in place. Scientists have observed an elementary particle that is consistent with predictions made by the Standard Model. That elementary particle has been named the Higgs boson after Peter Higgs,** one of the theoretical physicists who predicted its existence.
What is the Higgs boson, and why is it important?
Every interaction (force) in nature is mediated by a gauge boson. Here's an analogy: Suppose you want to interact with a friend, but you're both blindfolded and gagged. You both have a large bag of Nerf® balls, so you both start throwing. You will know where your friend is when you get hit.
There are only four fundamental interactions: electromagnetic, gravitational, weak, and strong. The photon is the EM boson; the graviton is the gravitational boson; W-, W+, and Z0 are the weak bosons, and the gluons are the strong ones. Where does the Higgs fit in?
The Standard Model, the theory behind the interactions excluding gravity, has been very successful at explaining most of nature. It lacks the physics of dark matter, dark energy, and gravity, but physicists everywhere are working on expanding it through efforts such as string theory, superstring theory, and M-brane theory. The model does predict the existence of the Higgs boson that causes all the other particles to have mass.
How does this happen? Here's another analogy: Imagine a large cocktail party of physicists.† I walk into the room, and since I'm not well known, I can get through the room and to the bar rather quickly. Then Peter Higgs walks in. Being quite the celebrity, he attracts a large crowd of admirers. The interaction works similarly. When an electron moves through the Higgs field§, it attracts some Higgs bosons, but when a up quark moves through the field, it attracts many more, and hence, has more mass.
Some additional notes:In 1993, Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman and science writer Dick Teresi wrote the book "The God Particle: If The Universe Is The Answer, What Is The Question?" Lederman joked that "the publisher wouldn't let us call [the Higgs Boson] the Goddamn Particle, though that might be a more appropriate title, given its villainous nature and the expense it is causing."
CERN and its American counterpart Fermi Lab can be thought as as time machines; that is, when experiments are being done, scientists are in effect recreating the conditions of the early universe. Observing the Higgs boson brings us back to within a picosecond or so after the Big Bang. [A picosecond is 10–12 seconds or one billionth of a second.]
Peter Higgs once suggested that the Higgs boson be named the ABEGHHK’tH "all the people who discovered it or rediscovered it," those being Phil Anderson, Robert Brout, Francois Englert, Gerald Guralnik, Dick Hagen, Peter Higgs, Tom Kibble, and Gerard ‘t Hooft.
Enjoy your 4th!
If you want to read more, some other discussions you might enjoy are The Higgs Boson, What Can We Do With The Higgs Boson? (courtesy of Matt Koutroulis), Physicists Have Found The Higgs Boson (courtesy of Frank Ybarra), Higgs Found (courtesy of my niece Kate Higgs), and Brian Greene Reacts To Today's CERN Announcement.
*You might be wondering why there is a C in the acronym for the lab. In 1952, a committee was formed whose charge was to establish a physics research center. The committee's name was Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire. When the institution officially came into being in 1954, the name was changed, but the acronym was not. Another bit of trivia - the World Wide Web was invented at CERN.
**There is a persistent rumor in my family that the boson is named after my brother-in-law Gene Higgs.
†I've adapted an analogy that I've seen and heard used by several sources, but with no attribution.
§My brother-in-law Gene also has a Higgs field next to his house.
Very early this morning, CERN*, the Organisation Européenne pour la Recherché Nucléaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research), announced a major discovery. A major piece of the universal puzzle is now in place. Scientists have observed an elementary particle that is consistent with predictions made by the Standard Model. That elementary particle has been named the Higgs boson after Peter Higgs,** one of the theoretical physicists who predicted its existence.What is the Higgs boson, and why is it important?
Every interaction (force) in nature is mediated by a gauge boson. Here's an analogy: Suppose you want to interact with a friend, but you're both blindfolded and gagged. You both have a large bag of Nerf® balls, so you both start throwing. You will know where your friend is when you get hit.
There are only four fundamental interactions: electromagnetic, gravitational, weak, and strong. The photon is the EM boson; the graviton is the gravitational boson; W-, W+, and Z0 are the weak bosons, and the gluons are the strong ones. Where does the Higgs fit in?
The Standard Model, the theory behind the interactions excluding gravity, has been very successful at explaining most of nature. It lacks the physics of dark matter, dark energy, and gravity, but physicists everywhere are working on expanding it through efforts such as string theory, superstring theory, and M-brane theory. The model does predict the existence of the Higgs boson that causes all the other particles to have mass.
How does this happen? Here's another analogy: Imagine a large cocktail party of physicists.† I walk into the room, and since I'm not well known, I can get through the room and to the bar rather quickly. Then Peter Higgs walks in. Being quite the celebrity, he attracts a large crowd of admirers. The interaction works similarly. When an electron moves through the Higgs field§, it attracts some Higgs bosons, but when a up quark moves through the field, it attracts many more, and hence, has more mass.
Some additional notes:In 1993, Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman and science writer Dick Teresi wrote the book "The God Particle: If The Universe Is The Answer, What Is The Question?" Lederman joked that "the publisher wouldn't let us call [the Higgs Boson] the Goddamn Particle, though that might be a more appropriate title, given its villainous nature and the expense it is causing."
CERN and its American counterpart Fermi Lab can be thought as as time machines; that is, when experiments are being done, scientists are in effect recreating the conditions of the early universe. Observing the Higgs boson brings us back to within a picosecond or so after the Big Bang. [A picosecond is 10–12 seconds or one billionth of a second.]
 |
| Peter Higgs and the equation describing the Higgs boson |
Enjoy your 4th!
If you want to read more, some other discussions you might enjoy are The Higgs Boson, What Can We Do With The Higgs Boson? (courtesy of Matt Koutroulis), Physicists Have Found The Higgs Boson (courtesy of Frank Ybarra), Higgs Found (courtesy of my niece Kate Higgs), and Brian Greene Reacts To Today's CERN Announcement.
*You might be wondering why there is a C in the acronym for the lab. In 1952, a committee was formed whose charge was to establish a physics research center. The committee's name was Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire. When the institution officially came into being in 1954, the name was changed, but the acronym was not. Another bit of trivia - the World Wide Web was invented at CERN.
**There is a persistent rumor in my family that the boson is named after my brother-in-law Gene Higgs.
†I've adapted an analogy that I've seen and heard used by several sources, but with no attribution.
§My brother-in-law Gene also has a Higgs field next to his house.
Get ready for the new year with January's Tax Due Date Reminders!
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The staff at Holdsworth & Co. joins you in saying goodbye to 2011 and ringing in a healthy and prosperous 2012!
Thanks for visiting our recently launched blogsite. As we begin the new year, we want to help keep you on course with a list of tax due date reminders for January. We're happy to answer any of your questions and are just a phone call away.
The staff at Holdsworth & Co. joins you in saying goodbye to 2011 and ringing in a healthy and prosperous 2012!
Thanks for visiting our recently launched blogsite. As we begin the new year, we want to help keep you on course with a list of tax due date reminders for January. We're happy to answer any of your questions and are just a phone call away.
| January 10 | Employees - who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during December, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070, Employee's Report of Tips to Employer. |
| January 17 | Employers - Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in December 2011.Individuals - Make a payment of your estimated tax for 2011 if you did not pay your income tax for the year through withholding (or did not pay in enough tax that way). Use Form 1040-ES. This is the final installment date for 2011 estimated tax. However, you do not have to make this payment if you file your 2011 return (Form 1040) and pay any tax due by January 31, 2012.Employers - Nonpayroll Withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in December 2011.Farmers and Fishermen - Pay your estimated tax for 2011 using Form 1040-ES. You have until April 17 to file your 2011 income tax return (Form 1040). If you do not pay your estimated tax by January 17, you must file your 2011 return and pay any tax due by March 1, 2012, to avoid an estimated tax penalty. |
| January 31 | Employers - Give your employees their copies of Form W-2 for 2011 by January 31, 2012. If an employee agreed to receive Form W-2 electronically, post it on a website accessible to the employee and notify the employee of the posting by January 31.Businesses - Give annual information statements to recipients of 1099 payments made during 2011.Employers - Federal unemployment tax. File Form 940 for 2011. If your undeposited tax is $500 or less, you can either pay it with your return or deposit it. If it is more than $500, you must deposit it. However, if you already deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.Employers - Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2011. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.Employers - Nonpayroll taxes. File Form 945 to report income tax withheld for 2011 on all nonpayroll items, including backup withholding and withholding on pensions, annuities, IRAs, gambling winnings, and payments of Indian gaming profits to tribal members. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.Individuals - who must make estimated tax payments. If you did not pay your last installment of estimated tax by January 17, you may choose (but are not required) to file your income tax return (Form 1040) for 2011. Filing your return and paying any tax due by January 31 prevents any penalty for late payment of last installment.Payers of Gambling Winnings - If you either paid reportable gambling winnings or withheld income tax from gambling winnings, give the winners their copies of Form W-2G.Certain Small Employers - File Form 944 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2011. Deposit or pay any undeposited tax under the accuracy of deposit rules. If your tax liability is $2,500 or more from 2011 but less than $2,500 for the fourth quarter, deposit any undeposited tax or pay it in full with a timely filed return. |
ALERT: Recent Phishing Scam
To contact us Click HERE
Be aware of this recently received phishing scam email. You may receive an email that looks like this actual sample. These and other similar phishing emails claim to be from the IRS and request personal or financial information. DON'T reply or click on the link. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or any other social media tools requesting personal or financial information.
For additional information information on phishing click on this IRS link. Let us know if you if you've received similar phishing scam emails so we can all be aware and protect ourselves from fraud.
 |
| ACTUAL PHISHING EMAIL |
For additional information information on phishing click on this IRS link. Let us know if you if you've received similar phishing scam emails so we can all be aware and protect ourselves from fraud.
4 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
2011 Business Income Tax Return Update: 1099 Reporting Requirements
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With the release of the 2011 Income Tax Return forms, we discovered new questions regarding 1099 reporting requirements that the IRS has slipped onto the Tax Returns for businesses (including Partnerships, S-Corporations, Corporations, and Schedule C). You now must answer “Yes” or “No” to the following questions:
While 1099 reporting obligations for businesses have existed for many years, these new questions tighten the vice considerably by forcing businesses to confirm their obligation and sign regarding compliance.
The most common types of payments made in the course of a trade or business that must be reported on Form 1099-MISC include: rents, services, and attorney fees in excess of $600 to an individual or business not operating as a corporation. Attorney fees must be reported even if paid to a corporation. The Form 1099-INT is used to report interest payments in excess of $10 to an individual or business not operating as a corporation.
If you have made such payments in 2011 and have not yet filed 1099 forms, they must be filed before February 29, 2012 to avoid a late filing penalty. For more information on 1099 reporting requirements you can visit the Internal Revenue Service website (www.irs.gov) or call our office and we can help you determine if you are in compliance with the reporting requirements. If you are required to file 1099 forms and have not, our staff can assist with this as well.
To maintain 1099 compliance in future years it is good practice to obtain a W-9 forms from new vendors prior to payment. This form can be found on the Internal Revenue Service website or provided by our office.
If we can assist you in 1099 processing or if you have further questions, feel free to contact our knowledgeable CPAs and staff.
- “Did you make any payments in 2011 that would require you to file Form(s) 1099?”
- “If ‘Yes’ did you or will you file all required forms?”
While 1099 reporting obligations for businesses have existed for many years, these new questions tighten the vice considerably by forcing businesses to confirm their obligation and sign regarding compliance.
The most common types of payments made in the course of a trade or business that must be reported on Form 1099-MISC include: rents, services, and attorney fees in excess of $600 to an individual or business not operating as a corporation. Attorney fees must be reported even if paid to a corporation. The Form 1099-INT is used to report interest payments in excess of $10 to an individual or business not operating as a corporation.
If you have made such payments in 2011 and have not yet filed 1099 forms, they must be filed before February 29, 2012 to avoid a late filing penalty. For more information on 1099 reporting requirements you can visit the Internal Revenue Service website (www.irs.gov) or call our office and we can help you determine if you are in compliance with the reporting requirements. If you are required to file 1099 forms and have not, our staff can assist with this as well.
To maintain 1099 compliance in future years it is good practice to obtain a W-9 forms from new vendors prior to payment. This form can be found on the Internal Revenue Service website or provided by our office.
If we can assist you in 1099 processing or if you have further questions, feel free to contact our knowledgeable CPAs and staff.
ALERT: Recent Phishing Scam
To contact us Click HERE
Be aware of this recently received phishing scam email. You may receive an email that looks like this actual sample. These and other similar phishing emails claim to be from the IRS and request personal or financial information. DON'T reply or click on the link. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or any other social media tools requesting personal or financial information.
For additional information information on phishing click on this IRS link. Let us know if you if you've received similar phishing scam emails so we can all be aware and protect ourselves from fraud.
|
| ACTUAL PHISHING EMAIL |
For additional information information on phishing click on this IRS link. Let us know if you if you've received similar phishing scam emails so we can all be aware and protect ourselves from fraud.
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